© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University Kuali Project Development Methodology, Architecture, and Standards James Thomas, Kuali Project Manager Brian

© 2004, The Trustees of Indiana University

Kuali Project Development Methodology, Architecture, and

Standards

James Thomas, Kuali Project Manager

Brian McGough, Kuali Lead Architect


Session Agenda

• Kuali Project Overview (brief)

• Kuali Development Methodology

• Kuali Architecture

• Standard Development Tools and Frameworks


Kuali Project Overview


Overview

Project Timeline• Technical work began in November

2004• “Official” kickoff in January 2005• Mellon grant received March 2005• Phase I release planned for March 31st,

2006 – General Ledger, Chart of Accounts, Financial Transaction Documents


Overview

Development Organization• 8 Development teams composed of

– Development Manager– Lead Developer/Developers– Business Analyst– Testing Coordinator

• Infrastructure Staff– Lead Architect– Configuration Manager– Developer DBA– QA Manager


Overview

Development Teams• Phase I

– Nervous System– General Ledger– Chart of Accounts– Financial Transaction Documents

• Phase II– Purchasing/Accounts Payable– Kuali Research Administration (KRA)


Overview

Future Development Teams (Phase II)

Labor Distribution

Capital Asset Management

Contracts and Grants

Accounts Receivable

Budgeting

Endowment


Kuali Development Methodology


Methodology

Development Methodology for delivering working software

• Flexible (b/c the only certainty is change)• Efficient• Results-Oriented• People-Centered• Feedback Driven• Sustainable


Methodology

Strategy• Plan for shorter development cycles• Embrace change• Developers and functional experts work

together continuously• Open communication• Quality software builds trust and faith• Keep it simple/avoid over-engineering


Methodology

The “Nervous System”• A framework composed of common

components across e-Docs• Allows for rapid creation of e-Doc “skeleton”

so majority of time can be spent on business rules

• Ensures consistency across Kuali development teams

• Helps to enforce usability and accessibility recommendations across modules


Methodology

Some “Nervous System” Components• Lookup Framework• Inquiry Mechanism• Maintenance Framework• Accounting Line Structure• GL Pending Entry Structure• Authentication Component• Authorization Component• Workflow Component• Document Notes and AttachmentsC• Customization Components• Validation Framework• Kuali Tag Library


Kuali Project Architecture


Architecture

Key Objectives• Design highly functional and flexible software

• Technology choices based on industry standard, open source, and “proven” solutions

• Deliver applications via loosely-coupled components and services with clearly defined APIs

• Leverage core “IT assets”

• Emphasize code re-use/reduce redundancy


Architecture


Architecture

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)

• Services are loosely coupled.

• Services have well-defined interfaces and

are reusable.

• Focus on business processes


Architecture


Architecture

Benefits of SOA

• Improved ROI – some reusable components will outlive applications

• Easier to maintain code base

• Code Mobility


Kuali Standard Development Tools and Frameworks


Tools/Frameworks

Standards• Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE)• XML/XSLT

Tools/Frameworks• Struts/JSTL• Spring• Object Relational Bridge (OJB)• jUnit and jMeter• Log4J


Platforms

• Web Server: Linux, Apache

• Application Server: Linux, Tomcat 5

• DBMS: Oracle *

*avoiding triggers, stored procedures, proprietary data types, etc. in order to achieve database independence


Key Kuali InfrastructurePortal & Workflow


Enterprise Portal

Kuali services will be designed to be delivered via a standard enterprise portal framework

Access to “Action List” service for managing electronic transactions (eDocs) via enterprise workflow


Power of Workflow

A general-purpose infrastructure for conducting mediated transactions with electronic documents (eDocs)

Quick, easy, and accurate routing

Automate University business rules

Complete Audit Trail


OneStart Workflow

EXAMPLE:

OneStart Workflow is currently routing over 1,800 eDocs/day and 55,000/mo

Human Resources eDocs previously requiring 1 to 2 weeks to process have been approved in < 1 hour

38 different types of eDocs from 3 diff apps


Conclusions


Conclusions

Kuali Partners are committed to:

Community Source Software

Service Oriented Architecture

Iterative and Flexible Methodology

Open Standards

Enterprise Application Integration


Questions?

Technical Q&A SessionWednesday, 10/12 at 8:00AM

James ThomasProject Manager

[email protected]

Brian McGoughLead Architect

[email protected]